Mobile devices such as cellular phones typically rely upon a rechargeable battery as a power source. A reduction in power consumption by components of the mobile device may provide a longer operating capacity for the mobile device. Similarly, all components and devices which rely upon a fixed amount of power may benefit from a reduction in power consumption.
Phase-locked loops are employed in a variety of applications, such as mobile devices, for frequency control. Phase-locked loops may be utilized as frequency synthesizers where it is necessary to generate a precise signal with low spurs and noise. Referring to FIG. 1, a phase-locked loop 100 known to the art is shown. Phase-locked loop 100 includes a reference frequency input 110, phase detector 120, a voltage controlled oscillator 130 and a frequency divider 140. The voltage controlled oscillator 130 of the phase-locked loop 100 may produce an output frequency signal 150. A drawback associated with a conventional phase-locked loop 100 is the power requirement necessary to support the operation of the phase-locked loop 100. For example, the voltage controlled oscillator 130 known to the art substantially contributes to the overall power consumption of the phase-locked loop. In order to provide a high output frequency signal 150, the voltage controlled oscillator 130 must produce a high frequency. The voltage controlled oscillator 130 producing a high frequency requires a substantial amount of power as the power consumption of a voltage controlled oscillator 130 is proportional to the voltage controlled oscillator frequency.
Consequently, a phase-locked loop that reduces the power consumed by the voltage controlled oscillator would be advantageous to provide frequency control for various high frequency applications while reducing the power required for operation of the phase-locked loop.